Nonspill vent plug



Patented June l,y 1937 UNITED STATES NoNsriLL VENT PLUG Joseph Lester Woodbridge, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to The Electric Storage Battery Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 29, 1933, Serial No. 691,458

2 Claims.

The subject of my invention is a non-spill vent plug adapted for. use with .containers of liquids which evolve gas.

My device consists essentially of a vent plug having a short, flexible member therein forming a part of the passage through which the gases escape. Mounted adjacent the exible member Y is a weight, which is supported for universal movement and which carries a suitably shaped member which cooperates with the open end of the iiexible member, to close it and thereby shutV off the escape of liquid when the container is tilted.

For a further exposition of my invention, ref erence may be had to the annexed drawing and specification, at the end thereof my invention..

will be specically pointed out and claimed.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-section through my device and the adjacent portion of a storage battery cover; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view, similar to Fig. 1, showing parts in a diierent position.

In the drawing I represents the hard rubber cover of a storage battery cell having a vent opening 2 surrounded by a cylindrical wall 3 ex-V tending above the cover in a boss l, provided with internal screw threads 5.

Into this vent opening is tted the vent plug 6 having a depending cylindrical barrel 1.-l e upper part of the vent plug 6 provides a hol ow chamber 8 and the top of the vent plug is fitted with a cap 9 having a downwardly projecting vent duct I0. Above the threaded portion 5 of the vent plug is a shoulder I I, between which and the top of the boss l is a rubber gasket I2 to provide a liquid seal at this point.

At an intermediate point in the ,interior of the vent plug 6 there is shown a funnel-shaped partition I3 having screw thread engagement with the inner wall of the vent plug and provided with a downwardly projecting nozzle I4. A pliable rubber tube Il is stretched over this nozzle and depends a short distance below its lower end, but not of sufficient length to allow displacement of its lower end by its own weight.

Just below the lofwer end of the tube l5 there is a weighted member I6, supported by means of its downwardly-turned annular lip I1 on a ledge I8 projecting inwardly from the lower end of the barrel 1. This weighted member has a conical depression I9 in its upper surface, from the cem ter of which projects upwardly a plug of a somewhat conical shape 20, which, in its normal position, terminates just below the lower end of the tube I I. i

When the cell is tilted from its normal vertical position in which it is shown in Fig. 2,v the (Cl. 13G- 178) weighted member I6 will rock about a point in its peripheral lip Il'l, causing the plug 2B to enter and close the lower end of the tube I5, thus preventing liquid from escaping from the cell. In case a small quantity of liquid gets past the opening in the tube I5, it will be trapped in the space 8 of the vent plug and will drain back intoI the cell when the latter is restored into its normal position. Y

In order to 4facilitate the assembly of the weighted member I6 in the barrel 1, it is made in two parts, the upper part having a downwardi ly projecting stem 2l over which is pushed the weight 22 after the member I6 has been located in the barrel 1. The weight 22 is then held in place by riveting over the lower end of the stem 2i as at 23 or in any other convenient manner.

The shape of .the weight 22 is designed to clear the side walls of a very narrowvcell when in the tilted position. y

I do not intend to be limited save as the scope of the prior art and of the attached claims may require. .l

I claim:

1. In combination. in a non-spill venting device for a cell containing liquid subject to evolution of gas and having a closure, a .venting orifice projecting downwardly through the closure and terminating in a pliable tube of length sufliciently restricted to prevent substantial displacement of its lower end by its own weight, an annular ledge coaxial with the tube and adjacent its lower end, anda weighted member having a peripheral lip, whereby it is supported on the ledge and having an upstanding projection normally coaxial with and adjacent to but spaced from the lower end of the tube to permit escape of gas and adapted to close the tube and prevent escape of liquid by the displacement of the weighted member when the cell is tilted from its upright position.

2. A non-spill vent plug for venting containers of liquid subject to evolution 'of gas, said plug. comprising in combination: a body having a passage for the escape of gas therethrough; a short, flexible, tubular member forming a portion of said passage and-depending downwardly; a circular support normally having a horizontal position, and a weight freely mounted'on said support beneath said member for universal movement, said weight having on its top an integral part of said weight which part is normally opposite `and spaced from the end of said tubular member but which part is located relative to said support so as to contact with and close said tubular member when the plug is tilted.

JOSEPH LESTER WOODBRIDGE. 

